Home Furniture, Plumbing, Heating, & Electrical

Other Ways to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

In our last blog, we looked at some of the ways that HVAC repair can help to bring you better air quality. Most people are interested in breathing the cleanest air possible. After all, who likes the allergies, sniffles, headaches, and general lack of well-being that comes with breathing poor air? Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to improve your indoor air quality, and in this blog post, we’d like to cover a few of these strategies.

1. Wet Dust Doesn’t Fly

Minimize dust wherever possible in your home. Of course, everyone will always have to fight with some level of dust. However, if you have areas of your home where dust is left to accumulate unchecked, this can compromise your air quality and leave your lungs to struggle with more dust than they want to handle. Did you know that your dusting methods can even have an effect on how much dust you’re actually getting rid of? If you use a feather duster or dry microfiber cloth, you may just be spreading around most of the dust, kicking it up into the air where it will only breathe more of it. Instead, use a damp rag or paper towel on any surfaces that won’t get damaged by a little dampness. On wood finishes, use a dusting spray like Pledge or Liquid Gold to ensure that you’re actually getting rid of dust.

2. Minimize Carpet In Your Home

Carpeting affects your air quality in two ways. First, its soft, fluffy fibers harbor a vast amount of pathogens, dust mites, and other contaminants. While your vacuum cleaner can pick up the visible crumbs and dirt, the tiny specks that you can’t see are what make your indoor air quality go down. Second, most carpeting gives off chemical compounds called Volatile Organic Compounds (or VOC’s) which can cause headaches, eye irritations, and even nausea or nerve problems. Many homes, particularly older homes, have beautiful hardwood flooring underneath the carpet, and this is a much healthier option for your air quality. If you have the choice, opt for hard flooring over carpet if indoor air quality is a priority.

3. Take the Cleaners Outside

Store any chemical or toxic products outside of your living space, such as in the garage. Products such as paint, solvents, chemical cleaners, and pesticides can give off toxic fumes at a slow rate, even when the bottles are closed. Have you ever noticed an effect on your respiratory system or had your eyes water when you sprayed a harsh cleaner? Tiny amounts of these fumes can cause tiny versions of these same effects. They’ll be too small for you to notice them, but they can still create a drag on your system, and you won’t really know why. Anything that has warnings on the label about not getting it into your eyes or mouth should be stored as far away as possible from your living space.

Our HVAC Experts Are Ready To Help With Any Repair or Installation You Need.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this article about your indoor air quality. As always, if you need any repair or installation of your heating, ventilation, or air condition, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We service Kankakee and the entire surrounding area, including Frankfort, Bourbonnais, Manteno, Bradley, Aroma Park, Peotone, and Monee. Call today!